Mayor says he didn't cross line between public, private life

Defends land deal; council gathering legal opinions

Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton speaks to an overflow crowd during a Memphis Rotary Club meeting Tuesday.

Mayor Willie Herenton gave the second part of his State of the City speech today at the University Club during the Rotary luncheon. Afterward he fielded questions from the audience and later answered questions from the media.

With a grand jury investigation swirling around him and revelations that he personally benefited from a land deal that he made more profitable by using his powers as Memphis mayor, Willie Herenton said Tuesday that he has done nothing wrong.

"There is a line. There is a separation of public and private," the fifth-term mayor said during remarks to an overflow crowd of more than 200 people during a Memphis Rotary Club meeting at University Club of Memphis. "I think I know where the line is. I feel confident I have not crossed that line."

City Council chairman Myron Lowery has asked the city attorney and council attorney for opinions on how the council can determine if Herenton's actions violated the ethics ordinance or charter.

"We sign an oath of office that says we will not benefit financially from serving in public office, directly or indirectly," Lowery said. "A violation of that oath of office is a violation of the city charter."

Meanwhile, the owner of a parking lot adjacent to the Greyhound station Downtown that has become the focus of a federal grand jury probe said Herenton approached him about investors he had lined up to buy the lot, reinforcing that Herenton was involved in redeveloping the Greyhound property and surrounding area.

Larry Bloch, an owner of a surface parking lot just east of the Greyhound station, said he met with Herenton in 2006 to discuss the possible sale of his property.

"He told me he had a group of athletes that were interested and he was interested in minority developers doing it," said Bloch. "It was pretty brief, but in general he said it was time that black developers were more involved (in Downtown projects)."

Herenton privately held an option to buy the Greyhound land and eventually made more than $90,000 on the deal.

After successfully lobbying the Memphis Area Transit Authority to help move Greyhound to the airport area, Herenton sold the rights for $116,000 in May 2006.

The payment to Herenton for the option on the Greyhound site came from a group of former professional athletes led by retired football player Ray Brown through Elvin W. Moon. A city contractor, Moon was involved in a sweetheart land deal with the mayor and has testified before the grand jury.

The Greyhound property is also central to another possible major city project, a new convention center.

While saying he had been advised by legal counsel not to answer detailed questions about the land deals or investigation, Herenton told a reporter he was involved only to help facilitate minority investment, a longstanding focus of his administration.

"That's what all this is about," he said. "That's it."

Herenton, the city's first elected black mayor, was at times philosophical during his Rotary speech, reflecting on his long public life and quoting from Theodore Roosevelt's "Man in the Arena." At other times, Herenton was defensive.

"I have operated with transparency and with accountability, and I think when this is over, there are some who will say my behavior is not ethical and some that said it adheres to the code of ethics," he said, adding that he has laid the groundwork for a possible defense.

"I have made preparations to defend myself against allegations about inappropriate action and conduct," he said.

Those preparations include asking current and former city officials to sign affidavits saying he never interfered with a city contract.

The City Charter is crystal clear on what the mayor's role should be, while the city's "aspirational" ethics ordinance is anything but.

The charter requires the mayor, who is paid $160,000 a year, to devote "his entire time and attention to the duties of his office.''

The ethics ordinance -- approved in June 2007 following the FBI's Tennessee Waltz bribery sting -- says city employees may not accept or continue outside employment "if the work unreasonably inhibits the performance of any affirmative duty" related to their position.

The ordinance also says city employees may not use or disclose information obtained through their official capacity "with the intent to result in financial gain" for themselves or family members, and may not use city "time, facilities, equipment or supplies" for private gain.

The council has no power to remove the mayor, and anyone who violates the ethics law is subject to a mere $50 penalty or a public censure.

Ricky Wilkins, a lawyer who has known the mayor for 25 years and had done legal work for the city, said the mayor is taking the federal investigation in stride.

"When you're in his position, you have to take punches and he can take punches," said Wilkins, who introduced Herenton before his speech. "He'll clarify what his role has been."